A 5 day scientific meeting on the structure and function of ribosomes to be held at a guest ranch in western Texas starting Monday, April 15, 1985, is proposed. Emphasis of the meeting will be on the mechanisms of ribosome function and the structure of prokaryotic and eukaryotic ribosomes especially in relation to these mechanisms. The format of the meeting and publication of its proceeding will be patterned close after previous meetings on the same topic held at Cold Spring Harbor in 1974 and Madison in 1979. We envision about 37 invited speakers, and 6 chairmen, about half of whom will be from the United States, and a total of about 200 participants, including most of the prominent investigators working on ribosomes. Most participants will have the opportunity to speak or present a poster. Most speakers and chairmen will be asked to contribute a chapter to the book. These chapters should include a brief review of recent developments in their particular area in addition to the latest results from their own laboratory, with the objective of producing an up-to-date edition of books that resulted from the 1974 and 1979 meetings.